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Hillary S. Wiesner Named Program Director for Transnational Movements and the Arab Region

Hillary S. Wiesner will join Carnegie Corporation of New York as Program Director for Transnational Movements and the Arab Region effective July 1, 2015. Wiesner returns to the Corporation following two years contributing to the startup of the Vienna-based intergovernmental Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) as its first Director of Programs.

Wiesner previously held the positions of Director of the Islam Initiative and Director of Fellowships and Arab Region Programs at the Corporation, supporting the knowledge sector’s capacity to enhance both public understanding and policy development. In her newly-created position, Wiesner will build on her past achievements by providing fresh approaches to Islam-related and Arab Region programming to meet current challenges, including emergent transnational movements.

“The Corporation has always been a leader in taking on critical issues,” said Wiesner. “I am honored to be part of its historic engagement with the most important challenges in the fields of security, education, and citizenship.”

“I am delighted that Hillary will soon return to the Corporation, where she so ably led our Islam initiative, which expanded and mobilized expertise at home and abroad, including 101 American experts on Islam, Muslim countries, and Islamic civilizations,” said Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Hillary’s talent, expertise, diligence, and vision will be of great service to me, the International Program, and the Corporation at large.”

Wiesner brings to the role years of leadership experience in international and intergovernmental organizations. She first joined Carnegie Corporation in 2007 from the position of Senior Executive Officer and Secretary of the Directorate of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. Working for the Director General, she was responsible for relations with the United States. She holds a B.A. in religion from Harvard, an M.A. from the University of Chicago on the Ancient Mediterranean World, and a Ph.D. from Harvard's Committee on the Study of Religion.